Campus AnnouncementsStrategic Planning Council
The Strategic Planning Council (SPC) is inviting the campus community to participate in small focus groups on shaping the University’s future through May 8. The focus groups will be looking 10 years ahead at what will attract the next generation of students to Sacramento State and what they may experience here.

Focus groups conducted earlier in the semester provided SPC with exceptional data as the campus prepares to engage in a new Futures Initiative.

Educator award
Pia Lindquist Wong, associate dean of the College of Education, was one of three educators chosen by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Commission) to join veteran colleagues on the Committee on Accreditation (COA). She joins Anne Ford Jones, director of Teacher Education Programs at University of California, Riverside and Sally Plicka, director of the Yolo-Solano Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Program for the Davis Joint Unified School District.

The appointments were made at the Commission’s April meeting. The COA is a statutory committee appointed by the Commission and charged with deciding the initial and continuing accreditation of educator preparation programs.Submitted by the College of Education

Writing the University call for submissions
Sacramento State Faculty members are asked to submit outstanding student writing to Writing the University, an online journal of undergraduate writing from across the curriculum. The journal is published by the Senate Reading and Writing Subcommittee. Visit www.csus.edu/wac/journal for submission guidelines. Submitted by the English Department

Getting the grades
Spring 2009 grading begins May 18. The Office of the University Registrar will conduct in-person faculty grade training sessions in the AIRC 3013 training lab on the following dates:

Each session will cover grade entry, the grade approval/save process, the grade posting process and timelines. To sign up, RSVP to Learner Web at www.rms.csus.edu/training/instructions.html or call the CMS HelpDesk at 278-7337. Submitted by the University Registrar

Weight Watchers
The University Enterprises Human Resources department holds a Weight Watchers at Work program each Friday during lunch on the third floor of the Hornet Bookstore Building, room 3900. The next meeting is 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Friday, May 8.

A Weight Watchers leader will provide an overview of the benefits, explain the dues and answer questions. For more information, contact Nancy Blanton at 278-7006 or e-mail nancyb@csus.edu. Informational and renewal sessions are open to the campus community.Submitted by University Enterprises Inc.Livingston Lecture
The Faculty Senate is seeking nominations for presentation of the 2009-10 John C. Livingston Distinguished Faculty Lecture.

The selected faculty member will present the lecture at a convocation in the fall. The award recognizes sustained and unique contributions to the campus community in providing intellectual leadership.

Nominations must be received by 2 p.m., May 6. Nomination letters should include a detailed description of the nominee’s qualification and a copy of the nominee’s vita. Send nominations to the Faculty Senate Office, Sacramento Hall, 254, zip 6036.

Topping out ceremony
The University Union will hold a topping out ceremony to celebrate another milestone in the construction of the recreation and wellness center (the WELL) beginning at 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 12, in parking lot 12.

The topping out ceremony has a long history and it signifies the placement of the last beam on top of a building. The campus community is invited to sign the last beam that day before it is hoisted to the top of the structure.

Activities begin at 10 a.m., with the beam signing, and the beam will be lifted into place at 11 a.m. Free food and music will be available starting at 11:30a.m. Submitted by the WELL

Leadership scholarship
The Serna Center is accepting applications for the Bustos Family Leadership through Service Scholarship. Students can receive $1,000 for the fall semester. Scholarship qualifications and applications can be viewed at the Center's website, www.csus.edu/sernacenter/scholarships/index.htm.
For more information, call 278-4512.Submitted by the Serna Center

The Library's Stress-Free Zone is backIn preparation for finals, a Stress-Free Zone will be set up in the in the browsing section of the University Library Lobby, (between the Circulation Desk and the Art Gallery), 1-7 p.m., Monday through Friday, May 11-15, and Monday through Tuesday, May 18-19.

The Stress-Free Zone contains comfortable chairs, the Library's newest books, cards, games and puzzles. The Zone also features a poetry composition wall, a paper airplane building station and short films and cartoons in room 0136 on the lower level. Alicia Patrice, a certified yoga instructor, will offer free relaxation sessions at 1:30 p.m., Monday, May 11 and Wednesday, May 13, in the Library Art Gallery.

A dramatic poetry reading, featuring Sacramento State theatre students, is 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, and Cary Kelly, a Sacramento State alum and “Cat in the Hat” will hold an escape to childhood story time presentation on Thursday, May 14.

WAC retreat
Writing Across the Curriculum invites full- and part-time instructors to attend a free one-day retreat focused on teaching reading and writing skills 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday, Aug. 24, in the Alumni Center. Topics include designing reading and writing assignments, sequencing assignments, teaching reading and writing as a process and peer response. Breakfast and lunch will be served. RSVP to Dan Melzer at melzer@csus.edu or call 278-6925.Submitted by the English Department
Sac State Night at the River Cats
Tickets are available for the third annual Sac State Night at the River Cats 7:05 p.m., Thursday, May 7, when the Pacific Coast League Champion River Cats take on the Reno Aces.
Tickets are on sale at the Recreational Sports Office located on the first floor of the University Union. Tickets are $7 each, or $5 each in groups of 10 or more. For information, call the Recreational Sports Office at 278-4111.Submitted by the Recreational Sports OfficeHuman Resources

Catastrophic leave donation programSacramento State employees may voluntarily donate to other employees up to a maximum of 40 hours of sick or vacation leave credits in one-hour increments each fiscal year. Bargaining Units 1, 8, 10 and 11 may only donate up to 16 hours per fiscal year. If employees are interested in donating time, a donation form can be obtained at www.csus.edu/hr/forms.htm#Disability, or by visiting the Human Resources Disability Leaves office in Sacramento Hall 162, or by calling 278-3522.